Did you know that in Thomas Cranmer's second Prayer Book (1552), the curate (or priest-in-training) was required to ring the bell before Morning and Evening Prayer each day?
In the very last paragraph for the preface of the 1552 Prayer Book, Cranmer writes that the curate "shall toll a bell thereto, a convenient time before he begin[s] [the service], that such as be disposed may come to hear God's word, and to pray with him."
Ringing the bell was important because it was a sign that the service was about to start. The hope was that it would bring people in.
Cranmer was trying to turn Morning and Evening Prayer into a tool to evangelize to the people so that they might hear the Word of God. It can still be that for us today.
Morning and/or Evening Prayer is a chance for us to offer prayer to God and to hear the vast majority of Scripture each day on a 2 year cycle through the Daily Office Lectionary. You don't need anyone else but yourself to say Morning or Evening Prayer, so even alone it can be a tool to hear the Word of God.
Tune in for this week's Christian Formation as we talk more about using the Daily Office Lectionary as a tool for reading Scripture as individuals.